Khurasan Road

Archaeological findings suggest the road was in regular use in the 3rd millennium BC, connecting Central Asia with Mesopotamia.

[9] The road continued to Madharustan and finally exited the Hulwan pass at the town of Kirind and the village of Khushan.

[10] From Kirmanshah the road continued to Hamadan and Sivah, turned north to Rayy, and from there passed east into the province of Qumis.

[11] The road was the main lifeline of Qumis, and most of the province's towns were located along its course: Khuwar, Qasr or Qariyat al-Milh (the "Salt Castle"), Ras al-Kalb ("Dog's Head", identifiable with Lasgird), Samnan, Damghan, al-Haddadah ("the Forge") or Mihman-Dust, and Bistam.

[13] Shortly after Nishapur, at Qasr al-Rih ("Castle of the Wind"), the road divided again into two branches leading southwest and northeast.

[16] From Samarkand, the road crossed the Sughd River and led to the town of Zamin in Usrushana, east of the local capital, Bunjikath.

Map of the Khurasan Road from Baghdad to Rayy, according to Ibn Khordadbeh, with distances in farsakhs
Map of the road from Ray to Nishapur, with distances in farsakhs
Map of Khurasan and Transoxiana in the early Islamic period